Violence ripples across Iraq, leaves 8 dead

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Attacks across the Iraqi capital left eight people dead and nine injured

Police say four young men, all family members, were found shot dead in Baghdad

In Falluja, an Awakening Council leader was killed and one of his guards was wounded

A series of attacks across the Iraqi capital left seven people dead and nine wounded Tuesday, while another attack killed a local leader and wounded his guard in Falluja.

Police say four young men, all family members, were found shot dead in Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr City, considered a stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the country's influential Ahrar party. His political bloc recently joined with former rival and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, forging a tenuous political alliance in spite of persistent violence throughout the capital.

A juvenile detention center worker was also shot dead by gunmen in Baghdad's southeastern al-Ameen neighborhood, police said. And roadside bombs in two different Baghdad neighborhoods left at least one other person dead and wounded eight others.

A Baghdad criminal court employee was also killed by gunmen in southwestern part of capital late Monday night.

In Falluja, Rasool Khalaf Halbousi -- a local Awakening Council leader -- was killed and one of his guards was wounded after a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle Tuesday afternoon.

The Awakening Councils, also known as the Sons of Iraq, are made up predominantly of Sunni Arab fighters who turned on Iraq's al-Qaeda militants in late 2006. The U.S.-backed movement was credited for being one of the main contributing factors to the drop in violence across Iraq since then, but they have become a frequent target of the remaining jihadists.